NORRISTOWN — Accused Pottstown killer Maurice Laverne Andrews Jr. apparently relied on the help of others as he tried to avoid capture by authorities searching for him in connection with a March slaying, court papers revealed.

“Detectives have learned that Andrews Jr. was assisted by family members in leaving the Pottstown area within hours of the murder,” Montgomery County Detective Todd Richard and Pottstown Detective Heather Long revealed in court documents.

“Detectives also know that family members drove Andrews Jr. from the Pottstown area to Harrisburg. During this time frame, Andrews Jr. was successful in avoiding detection of law enforcement,” Richard and Long alleged.

For the first time, the circumstances leading up to the April 18 apprehension of Andrews in Philadelphia, were revealed in court documents that outlined the filing of charges against Andrews’ mother, Julia White, of Harrisburg, who is accused of trying to assist Andrews in destroying or hiding the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun he allegedly used during the 2:17 a.m. March 22 gunshot slaying of Victor Enrique Bonilla Baez outside Brian’s Café in the 300 block of Jefferson Avenue, Pottstown.

Between March 25 and April 18, detectives, considering Andrews to be armed and dangerous, were actively searching for the 19-year-old, of the first block of North Charlotte Street, in connection with his role in the alleged plot to execute Baez in a hail of bullets outside the bar.

“Family members of Andrews have openly told police that they will assist Andrews in avoiding apprehension by the police in any way that they can. Specifically, Julia White told Detective Richard if she knew where her son was she ‘wouldn’t tell’ the police,” detectives alleged in court papers.

Authorities apparently caught a break on April 17 when detectives received information from an unidentified Andrews “family member” who provided authorities with a cell phone number linked to Andrews.

“This family member informed Detective Richard that Andrews Jr. was currently using this number to communicate with members of his family,” Richard and Long alleged in the court papers.

Based on the information, detectives were able to determine Andrews was using the phone number to communicate with a female friend and that he was using the phone in the area of 51st and Locust streets in Philadelphia, according to court documents.

On April 18, Andrews was arrested in Philadelphia by members of the U.S. Marshals Service. At the time of his apprehension, Andrews was in possession of the cell phone that authorities had been tracking, according to the criminal complaint.

Court papers also indicate that the county’s investigative grand jury was utilized during the investigation.